FOI participation at EMAS II conference

FOI council member and Environment Committee chairman Godwin C. Micallef represented the federation at the conference of the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), which was held in Brussels at the end of June.

The conference provided a platform for environmental management stakeholders to exchange experiences and discuss the benefits of the scheme.

At the conference, Catherine Day, the new director-general of DG Environment, and Ruth Frommer, also from DG Environment, laid out the Commission's future environmental management policy.

The message that was conveyed in various sessions of the conference by the speakers was that the local authorities must take the lead and implement EMAS. It was stressed that the public sector must serve as an example to the private sector.

According to Ms Day, the DG Environment would also be EMAS-certified in the near future. In fact, the first EMAS newsletter, which is published by the EMAS Helpdesk on behalf of the European Commission, states:

"If industry and other sectors are to be convinced of joining EMAS, opinion builders have to promote the scheme and set an example themselves. Within this context, the European Commission has taken a first step forward: it has committed itself to apply EMAS internally."

Furthermore, Ms Day also stated that the EU target is that in five years' time a tenth of all organisations (both public and private within the European Union) will adopt the EMAS system.

The conference also featured a variety of presentations to address issues of interest to stakeholders. Specific emphasis was placed on areas like the benefits and incentives for registered organisations; the service and public sectors; regional sustainable development; and new marketing opportunities.

Another message that was highlighted during the conference was that there must be more awareness about EMAS and its logo.